Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Every year, 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease. More than one in three women is living with some form of cardiovascular disease.

Women with high blood pressure have an 83 percent higher risk of heart attack then men with hypertension.

Women smokers have a 55 percent higher risk of heart attack than male smokers.

Women with type 2 diabetes are 47 percent more likely to have heart attacks than men living with diabetes.

The good news? Heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions.

Risk factors that you can manage or treat with lifestyle changes and your healthcare provider’s help include:

High blood pressure

Smoking

High blood cholesterol

Lack of regular activity

Obesity or overweight

Diabetes

Risk factors that you can’t change include:

Age

Gender

Heredity (family health history)

Race

Previous stroke or heart attack

Start by knowing your numbers. You can’t manage what you don’t measure, which is why knowing your heart health risk is critical to prevent cardiovascular disease. Talk to your healthcare provider to learn about your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, and BMI (Body Mass Index).

Your heart depends on it. For more information about heart health go to the American Heart Association website at www.heart.org.

Alert ! Day for Type 2 Diabetes Awareness

Tuesday, March 26, 2019 is the American Diabetes Association’s “Alert ! Day” for type 2 diabetes awareness.  Each year, held on the last Tuesday of March, is a one-day event that encourages everyone to take the type 2 diabetes risk test and participate in activities that will teach them about reducing their risk for diabetes.

Five factors are used to determine your risk for type 2 diabetes which include: your age, your gender, for women: whether you were ever diagnosed with gestational diabetes, whether you have a close family member with diabetes, whether you have high blood pressure, your level of physical activity, and your weight category.

Only your healthcare provider can tell you for sure if you have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is more common in African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Higher body weight increases diabetes risk for everyone.

The good news is you can manage your risk for type 2 diabetes. Small steps can make a big difference in helping you live a longer, healthier life. For more information about Alert ! Day go to: the American Diabetes Association’s website

Combining Diabetes Awareness with Heart Health Education

For one night only, on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, you can enjoy a FREE outreach event at NYC’s #1 Escape Room Experience, Clued Inn, with a heart health twist. Clued Inn’s goal is to enliven the mission of the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Alert Day with a one-day wake up call and encourage further action through an interactive, gaming experience. Clued Inn aims to change perceptions about early recognition of type 2 diabetes, inform about the link between type 2 diabetes and heart health, and promote intervention before it leads to cardiovascular disease.

In many ways, type 2 diabetes is a puzzle since the most common symptoms vary from person to person. The same skills needed to succeed at the game are also necessary for preventing cardiovascular disease for people with type 2 diabetes.  The escape room experience fosters the same collaboration as diabetes management. Players explore possibilities, think of creative solutions, ask questions, listen to answers, and try new ways of doing things. No one goes it alone and there’s more than one way to find a solution. All of these behaviors can be put to good use when tackling a health issue with your healthcare provider(s). For these reasons, Clued Inn offers a fun learning experience for everyone to improve problem solving skills and learn about the connection between type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It also gives at-risk individuals and their families better knowledge of the questions and conversations to be conducted at the next appointment they have with their healthcare provider.

Can you escape before it’s too late?

Solve the special “Diabetes and Heart Health” puzzles for a chance to receive prize giveaways, diabetes and heart health resources, and meet with nationally recognized diabetes educators. Online registration is quick and easy and the entire Escape Room Experience is totally free courtesy of the Clued Inn sponsor, Boehringer Ingelheim. For further information, and to register, go to www.CluedInn.org.

Dr. Beverly S. Adler, aka “Dr. Bev”, is a clinical psychologist and Certified Diabetes Educator with a private practice in Baldwin, NY. She was honored in 2016 with the “Certified Diabetes Educator Entrepreneur of the Year Award.”

She is the author/editor of two diabetes self-help books which include insightful lessons of empowerment written by successful men and women with diabetes.  She has published articles in print and online about diabetes management – always with the focus on emotional adjustment. Dr. Bev has been quoted in numerous magazines and contributed to a monthly diabetes advice column online. She is a frequent contributor to the Divabetic Diabetes Daily Wire, where she blogs about diabetes topics from the psychological perspective.

Dr. Bev has lived successfully with type 1 diabetes for 42 years. You can connect with her on her website www.AskDrBev.com and on Twitter @AskDrBev.